Still, every one of us has days when it feels as if age is getting the upper hand.
Getting older isn’t always easy, and most of us would simply like to stop looking and feeling older.
Impossible?
Well, not entirely.
The grace Factor cannot make any of us look younger, but I can help you look your best by teaching you how to enhance your features in a classic, simple way. That will give you confidence, which is one of the most important tools you can develop.
Confidence is key!
It can be your new best friend. It is attractive and sexy and empowering—everything you want to be.
There are techniques and tips about makeup you need to know in order to put together the right look, the one that works for you. Applied incorrectly, makeup can age you, but with the right techniques and tips? Knowing those, you are well on your way to achieving your elegant best.
Colour is another area grace can help you with. Not just colour in your makeup but in your wardrobe. The wrong colours will drain your complexion and dull your appearance. The right ones will make you absolutely glow.
So that’s how you go about not looking older.
As for not feeling older?
Again, you cannot go back to being or feeling decades younger than your age. But embracing the aging process is the key to feeling your best.
No one likes to gain weight, to have hair where it shouldn’t be and not where it should, to watch spots and wrinkles appear as if from nowhere with every glance in the mirror.
But, you have choices.
Regular exercise is a must. It not only retards the aging process; it will make you feel good. Feeling good circles back around to confidence and to looking good.
Getting out in the fresh air, communing with nature and appreciating the life around us, feeds the soul. It is essential to both physical and emotional well-being. Take care, of course, that your skin is protected from the damaging rays of the sun. Using a sunscreen is very important, and it should be automatic.
Making wise selections in your diet is another pro-aging choice that will enhance both your appearance and your health. Sometimes, yes, the only answer is chocolate, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as it’s not always the answer.
In your life you have to take a holistic approach.
It’s not just about the right makeup and wardrobe. It’s not just about knowing your body type and choosing the right clothes in the right style in the right colour.
It is about taking care of you, inside and out.
So exercise and move every day. Eat properly. Get out into nature. Appreciate your family and your friends.
Celebrate your life.
Let’s Begin
grace Makeup is a system, for lack of a better word, and the essence of that system lies in a series of discoveries. Makeup is a mystery, and in this book we unravel the mystery by grounding the grace system in facts.
If you’re going to live in the realm of graceful appearance, there are some realities you will encounter that you must adapt to, which will help you live in the disciplines of your grace.
On the physical side, you will be moisturizing, changing eating habits, exercising, limiting your wardrobe and makeup to your colour palette, and taking more time to renew yourself emotionally. These are all realities of growing in age.
As for makeup, knowing your colouring is a crucial element to looking your best. Your hair colour, eye colour and skin tone all compose the mystery of your beauty.
There is a grace to using foundation in the correct undertone and using lipstick or blush in the right colour, all of which will ensure you look your best. Vibrant. Glowing.
Are you an autumn/spring or a winter/summer? Warm or cool? We’ll help you learn it all!
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Chapter 2
The
Essentials
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“A girl should be two things:
classy and fabulous.”
—Coco Chanel
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Makeup is easy when you have the right tools! And the right tools are necessary to achieve our best, our classiest and our most fabulous selves.
Here is a practical list of the essential makeup tools:
1. Mirror, magnifying if necessary
2. Q-tips for smudging and small cleanups
3. Kleenex for removing excess product and working product into the brush
4. Brushes
And here are the essential makeup products:
1. Eye Shadows: Most are powder, although there are crème eye shadow formulations. I personally find that powders work the best. Very often the crèmes “move” and creep into the crease of the eye. The various brands of powder shadows will apply a little differently, and their “stay” ability will vary. An eye shadow primer might help your eye shadow adhere better and stay on longer.
2. Eyeliner: There are liquid, cake, pen, pencil, gel, and crème formulations. I find that crèmes are best for an older eye. With liquids, cakes, and liner pens, the application must be extremely accurate because those lines cannot be smudged or smoothed out. They’re there to stay. These formulations also tend to look harsh, which makes them aging. An eyeliner pencil is both easier to use and forgiving; the line can be smudged. However, pencil doesn’t stay on very well. The crèmes are my personal choice; they can be smudged and are easily applied, they have great staying power, and they create a flattering softness that liquids and cakes cannot create.
3. Mascara: Waterproof, lengthening, thickening, some with fibres in them, curling…there are so many formulations, it can be confusing! Personal preference will dictate a favourite. Colour is the key to using the most flattering mascara. Very black will be harsh on the majority of women and can look especially harsh on a woman with soft colouring. Brown and grey are better choices. Although grey can be difficult to source, for a woman with cool, soft colouring it’s worth the search. Brown is best for a woman with a warm undertone. I suggest a touch-up of black to the lashes to add drama at night. (But, if you plan on doing this, don’t apply too much mascara before, as it may then clump at the tips.)
4. Bronzers: There are powder, liquid, and crème formulations. All three of these are very popular, but I lean towards the powder for myself and for my clients. The bronzer shapes and frames the face. The key to the best application with a powder bronzer lies in using the proper brush. I find that a lot of women just want colour, but a bronzer can shape the face and give you the best of both worlds, as colour and a pro-aging application pop the cheekbones, thus lifting and shaping the face.
5. Blush: Blush can be powder, crème or liquid, with powder and crème being the most popular. Both work very well and can be easily applied. Using a crème over a powder could create a “sticky” situation; use crème blusher over a crème foundation, and powder blusher over a powder foundation.
6. Lipsticks: Lipstick comes in matte, frost, satin, tint and stain—and then lip glosses and lip glasses, which give the biggest gloss and shine of all. There is also a whole new line of lipsticks that have all-day stability. So here again, there are so many different formulations, it can be confusing, never mind choosing the right colour! (Although that’s something I can help you with). One hint: the more moisture in the lipstick, the less time it will